Resident Evil's New Director

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Although Director George Romero is off the project, Capcom has something new up its sleeve.

By IGN Staff

Most diehard fans of the phenomenally successful videogame hit Resident Evil are cognizant that Capcom plans to make a movie based on the videogame. Most fans also know that Capcom had, at one time, hired cult Director George Romero to direct Resident Evil The Movie, and has let him go.

The real question is why? Capcom was not entirely clear on the subject. "That's a difficult one," said a Capcom representative. "We were initially giddy over getting Romero to direct it. Our Japanese guys - particularly Okamoto [Yoshiki Okamoto, director of R&D, and president of the game scenario company, Flagship] -- love his stuff, and were overjoyed at acquiring him for directing this movie."

Romero directed the first Resident Evil commercial that aired on Japanese TV, but which did not make it over to the US. But he's most known for his dark-humor zombie films, Night of the Living Dead (shot in black and white, 1968), Dawn Of the Dead (which takes place at a shopping mall), and Day of the Dead (the last of the three). Romero also directed two less than spectacular films, KnightRiders and Monkey Shines. So, why did Romero leave?

According to a source close to the project (who asked not to be mentioned by name), Romero's scripts just didn't titillate anyone. "We've seen several of George's manuscripts, and they were too zombie-ish, to be honest, and so we're waiting for a new approach. When we get a new director, we'll hopefully have just that."

Another good industry source told IGN that Romero lacked the feel of Resident Evil. He essentially was turning Resident Evil into Dawn of the Dead, instead of making it new and original, the source added. "He wanted to put sunglasses on the zombies and do other goofy stuff that didn't fit in at all."

So, who's the new director? No one at Capcom would comment on who the new talent was just yet. Still, Capcom may very well have its man, IGN has learned. The company is in negotiations with several directors at the moment.

"Resident Evil The Movie will happen." Explained the source. "It's a great idea. Okamoto is excited about it. It's got a lot of life left in it. We won't see the movie in the year 2000, however. It'll probably be in movie theaters at earliest in the year 2001. Everyone's watching to see when the next Star Wars comes out, so that'll be a factor.